More than 250 members of Illinois clergy, mostly Protestant and Jewish, endorse the gay marriage bill and in a statement from the White House President Obama says he would vote for legalizing same-sex marriage if he were still a state senator.

34 comments

Chris_Vogel

The bad news is that the Roman church still considers itself entitled to tell everyone else what to do, and to demand that the law impose their idiotic beliefs on everybody. The good news is that modern secular governments do not permit the church its traditional responses to difference: torture and mass murder.

timothy canezaro

God Bless everyone on this New Year’s day and also on the Solemnity of Mary which we celebrated in our Churches across chicagoland today. As catholics, we welcome the words of our Cardinal any.time he wishes to express them to us.

The thing as catholics that we all already know and do anyway is always defend and speak out for three things which are currently under attack by our elected officials; Family, Marriage, and the Sanctity of Life.

Tom

Perhaps then you should consider urging our legislators to oppose divorce rather than unions among those who love each other. The real threat to heterosexual marriage is divorce, not gay/lesbian couples being allowed to wed. There is no mention in the New Testament, nor is there any expression by Jesus in any of the Church's official writings against two people of the same sex marrying by the way. You should read and become knowledgeable about Scripture before spouting an opinion based on them.

Bill Maroney

"Legal fiction?" Is he serious???? I'm amazed (not really) that the cardinal chose to use the first day of this new year to call for the continued discrimination against those who want nothing more than the right to legally marry the person of their choosing. He did not call for an end to violence in our streets or homes or schools…..he did not call for being more charitable to those we share this planet with. Shame on him! This just in……….HUGH HEFNER, 86, marries blonde bimbo, 26. I'm sorry…..PLATINUM blonde bimbo! Sanctity of marriage???????? Give me a break. Contact your legislator and encourage them to do the right thing. MARRIAGE EQUALITY FOR ALL!

Bill Maroney

PS Comes to us from nature????? Really? Taxes aren't really natural either! Or war. Not one single person who opposes same-sex marriage has been able to explain to me how allowing same-sex couples to marry would diminish or threaten the "sanctity" of marriage. Extending that right to ALL can only strenghten the thing itself!

Chris

I am a Catholic that has been attending the AGLO (Archdiocesan Gay & Lesbian Outreach) Mass in Lakeview for about 2 years now. Although I am saddened by our Cardinal's position, I just hope that people don't see this as a reflection of all Catholics. With that said, one thing I really wish my church could better understand is that our religious beliefs should not be forced on others through political activism. The government is here to stand for the equal rights of all people – and that is how it should be.

JEvans

The church doesn't care as much about gay marriage as it does about money, it's all about $$$. They mistakenly feel only male/female marriages will insure progeny to continue to financially support their outfit.

Pete

If it is about opportunity for same benefits, or treatment, I am all for it. If it is about solemnizing something that is to be recognized by God, then the state needs to keep the h*ll out of the business of the church! It works both ways, folks.

Tom

Religion would not be required to recongnize any unions between same sex couples in this bill. It would not solemnize anything "by God" but recognize the State's ability to determine it's own laws without interference from religion.

Wendy J

DEFINITION:
MONOGAMY
/məˈnägəmē/
Noun
The practice or state of being married to one **person** at a time.
The practice or state of having a sexual relationship with only one partner.

(Note: the word PPERSON)

1. Since marriage promotes monogamy, I really don't see why the Church would have a problem with this.

2. In the United States there suppose to be a separation between CHURCH and STATE.

3. In the United States we have freedom of religion.

My point being, perhaps some people should remember that not all peoples' beliefs are the same. We live in a free nation and homosexuals and lesbians are not criminals, terrorists or evil people. They are just people with a different sexual preference. So why are we making such an issue about it?

I just don't understand why their needs to be a LAW for them to get married….REALLY!!?

Now: In short: I support same sex marriage – because I support marriage.

ismael

Tom

I support marriage between two loving people, no matter their sex, so I guess you're wrong – I do support marriage and do NOT know it is between a man and a woman. What does our sewer system have to do with marriage? Or sex for that matter? It seems idiotic to include such a statement in a discussion about marriage…. and quite a bit ignorant.

Chas Kent

It is now 2013, and such archaic beliefs are still being articulated by some in leadership positions? To me his statement is irrelevant. I don't think I have ever heard a gay marriage advocate ask for the blessing of the Catholic church. This is a civil right, to which all citizens are entitled. They aren't asking to marry in the Catholic (or any other church), they are asking for the state and federal governments to recognize equal rights and privileges for gay and straight people alike, including same sex marriage. Everyone has an opinion. Fine. But the day I can vote on whether we should continue to have the Catholic church exist will be the first day that the Catholic church can have the right to say who can marry under the law. If they want to continue to engage in state and federal government matters, I think they should immediately lose their tax exempt status.

Betty

Tom

Does your Bible also say that Adam and Eve created Abel and Cain, both men? If so, where did the next generation come from? If you literally interpret your Bible then this great mystery must confound you to no end!

Guest

I'm not the least bit religious (I'm athiest), but have taken quite a bit of theology. According to many translations of the Bible, Cain was not fathered by Adam, but rather the seprent (go figure). In addition, there are many interpretations that state each had a twin sister. Both wives happened to be these "sisters", with Abel's (Aclima) being more beautiful than Cain's It was Cain's jealousy over Aclima (and his rejected sacrifice to God) that drove him to murder Abel. So, I guess the Bible thinks incest is okay, but not gay marriage. *snicker*

Bill

Lucy

Joan

I agree with Cardinal George. Marriage is between a man a woman . God bless you for defending marriage under Gods law .The bible does tells about Sodom and Gomarrah. Look what happened . Read your bible

Brett

I don't see why this is an issue. People should be able to Marry who they want to, and let each individual religion decide if they want to be a part of it, if it doesn't affect you personally it shouldn't matter, and if gays can't marry, heterosexuals shouldn't be allowed to divorce

Jdbro

and the catholic church has any right after all the abuse allegations, to make comments about any class of people, the church should have been reclassified as a cult for knowingly allowing the sexual abuse to go one for so long in there …so called religion/church

Sudan

Where is our rationale thinking?Why would anybody swallow this kind of life style…they the homosexuals have infiltrated our society and made us think they are right for there deviant behavior…sick,we shouldn't follow there lifestyles…..oppose this my fellow Americans stand for something and don't fall for anything

Anthony

The who concept of gay marriage is irrational. Although some folks have practiced homosexuality in probably most societies, this has always been considered a "practice." In 7000 years of human civilization homosexual lifestyles have never been equated to marriage. Heterosexual marriage has always been considered the best way to raise the most viable, stable children. This is so intuitive that it shouldn't even be a question. I am happy I had a female mother and a male father. I think this has enabled me to interact socially with the opposite sex. That this bishop says is right – it's a legal fiction. You can't just redefine something so intertwined with our society because some minority group screams loud enough. It's not marriage. It will never be marriage.

Cardinal George is concerned that if same-sex marriages become available, that many adults will have their religious freedoms infringed upon because they will be required to recognize same-sex married couples as married.

Exactly the same thing happened back in the 1960's when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized interracial marriages everywhere in the U.S. and many adults felt that their religious freedoms were infringed upon because they felt, on religious grounds, that people of different races should not be allowed to marry.

The public learned to accommodate an end of racial bigotry back in 1967. They will learn to accommodate an end to homophobia — hopefully in 2013 in Illinois.

JOE

Mike Laurin

A few points to consider regarding Cardinal George and his flock of sheep:

1. The Catholic church is super slow but eventually gets it right on prima fascia issues. The Vatican finally recognized that the Earth is not the center of the cosmos in the 1970s –over 300 years after this fact
was widely accepted.

2. The Catholic church has a long and ugly history of perpetrating systematic torture, widespread persecution, mass killings, and a culture of child rape. From this history, the church claims moral authority on people’s personal lives.

3. The website of the archdiosis of Chicago includes a section on Defense of Marriage, but none for Defense of Alterboys.

4. The Catholic church, the archdiosis of Chicago, and all it’s Chicagoland parishes are tax-exempt entities. By federal and state law, when Cardinal George goes on the anti-gay lobbying circuit, he becomes a politician, and the Catholic church becomes a political organization. The Catholic church, in particular– the archdiosis of Chicago — should lose it’s tax-exempt status.

5. Cardinal George claims gay sex / gay marriage is against his so-called “natural law.” Is the Catholic church’s ban on clergy sex / clergy marriage in accord with this natural law?

6. Yes, the Catholic church is behind the times, corrupt as the devil, and obsessed with sex. At this rate, the church will get the marriage issue straight in the year 2324.